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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — a country
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lie — to recline
  14. wake — a trail
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pitch — completely
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com